More User Reviews:

Poured a deep dark brown with a thinner beige colored head atop that left a broken ring of lace as it settled rather quickly.A great mix of chocolate,roast,and earthy/resiny hops all come together very well.Resiny hops are strong overtop of a roasted base,earthy hops and chocolate round out the palate,the alcohol gives off a little sweetness and zip as it warms a little.A great ABA,maybe one of the top 2 or 3 I have had to date.

On tap at the Oak Cafe. Deep, dark, woody brown, but not quite deep enough to elude all color and be deemed truly black. Ruby highlights are revealed when held up to the light. The head fades quick and has a hue somewhere between khaki and tan. The collar that's left behind leaves a few spots of generous lacing as it makes its decent atop the beer.

Robust aroma, no doubt; the initial whiff opens up a roasted malt and cocoa powder canvas with citric hops thrown about. Mildly herbal, ashy, and with a bitter hint of white pepper covered grapefruit peels. I'm getting just a touch of black licorice in the end, as well, though the malt bill still leans more towards a roasty and chocolatey aroma profile - good news for me.

The first sip is pretty ashy and nearly charred, both from a one-two combo of the deeply roasted malts and the mildly abrasive hop bitterness. Leaves, citrus peel, ash, roast, cocoa, and even the faintest hint of fresh coffee beans starts nibbling the tongue in the tail end. There's a lot going on, but unfortunately the intensity of the ash and bitterness kind of masks much of it.

I was digging it at first, but this is a beer that really wears down the palate quickly. Quite a bit of astringent roast and ashy char that picks away at your taste buds until there's nothing left. Bitter finish with a medium body, resinous and sticky mouth feel that seems a bit oily, too. Strange brew overall, with surprisingly well hidden alcohol... I had no idea this was in the double digits.

The black ale is decent enough, though for me, black IPA's are a very touchy style. Easily hit or miss, though this is one of the few that falls in between. It's far from bad, but the palate wrecking that happens sooner than halfway through the glass is enough to bog down the drinkability like a two ton weight. This would be perfect in 4-6 oz. serving sizes. Anything more is tough.

Bottled the end of March, 2011.Black beer with red highlights. Thick tan head that looked like whipped cream. Lotta lace.Aroma of sweet chocolate and roasted malt. Mostly a sense of citrus hops, but some herbal notes also.Sweet chocolate taste over an espresso background. Grapefruit, then some piney hops. The hops linger a long time.The alcohol was dangerously well-hidden. A big beer, very, very nice.

A: it has a very deep black body that even when held up to the light is opaque. The head dissolved quite quickly which was a little but of a disappointment

S. Not too much aroma you can smelled the warranted malts and some chocolate espresso mixed with a nose of a slight floral hoppy trying to make an appearance but just not quite getting the attention it wants

T: black ipasareone of my favorite but I think serria Nevada did abetter job with the hop dark malt balanceaethan this beer. The nose starts off with a floral citrusy nose but it is quickly over whelmed by a dark chocolate with a hint of dark cherry almost followed by an lull encompassing espresso and roasted aftertone

M: it is mediumed bodied and heavily carbonated which saves the lack of smoothness you can achieve when using a dark malt combination. The mouth feel was a little dissapOinting I was really looking for a richer aftertaste but it is no easy feat to create a black ipa so I'll forgive them for the lack of feel

O: black ipas are quite hard to perfect I have to give them credit they did make a 10 percent taste pretty darn good but there are a few things they could improve upon. Would I buy it again. Depends on my mood but as far as normal beers go I commend clown shoes for there experimentation and might have to try some of there more classic beers to see how this brewery overall standing is

Intense and unforgiving black in color. Just the faintest hint of light peeks through this brew when held up to the light. Not much head on this beer. Massive aroma of Pacific Northwest hops combined with roasted malt, plums, raisins, and black licorice. Mouthfeel is very carbonated and sticky. Flavor is an initial wallop of hop bitterness followed closely by roasted malt, fig, raisins, and plum. The aftertaste hastily returns back to a strong, bitter hop fade. An epic roller coaster for your palate that will delight those seeking dark,bitter beers. My first clown shoes brew, but when I travel I will seek out their other brews (as they don't distribute in MO.

Appearance: Pours a very dark brownish black with a slight hint of ruby at the bottom. Lots of bubbles and a huge five finger tan head with decent retention. Leaves a lot of creamy lacing around the glass.

Smell: A very big aroma with sharp hops and lots of dark malts. Citrus hops with hints of grapefruit, orange, pineapple, and lemon. A fair amount of spicy pine resin. Big dark malt presence with hints of burnt caramel, chocolate, toffee, burnt toast, and coffee. Light hints of burnt sugar. A bold and balanced aroma. Smells like a really hopped up imperial stout.

Taste: As bold as it smells, a big taste of hops and dark malts. Tropical citrus hops with notes of grapefruit, pineapple, orange, and lemon. Earthy grass and pine resin. A very big malt presence balances out the hops. Dark roasted malts with a taste of chocolate, burnt caramel, toffee, toast, coffee, and a little burnt sugar. Some alcohol is tasted. Tastes like a cross between a imperial IPA and Stout. Really good.

Mouthfeel:Body is on the fuller side with a moderate amount of carbonation. Creamy, juicy, and fairly chewy. Some alcohol heat is felt, but it isn't overly hot.

Overall: A very good imperial Black Ale. Bold in both the hops and dark roasted malts. A truly "Black" Ale.